MELIPHAGIDAE 



567 



of the insects which constitute so much of their diet, they occa- 

 sionally feed upon the ground especially in the case of Ptilotis ; 

 while Meliornis and Entomophila will dart after their prey like 

 Flycatchers. Figs and bananas, with other fruits and buds, are 

 also eaten ; honey is sucked from the flowers of Eucalyptus, Acacia, 

 J/p&cHs,and the like, in considerable quantities, the insects it attracts 

 being perhaps the chief object ; and Philemon batters large insects 

 upon the branches before swallowing them. The voice is commonly 

 loud, rich, and shrill, but varies from a whistle or a pipe to a chirp ; 

 some species, however, are more quiet, others give vent to slow, 

 plaintive cries, 

 quickly reiterated 

 notes, or compara- 

 tively harsh sounds. 

 The Tui, or Parson- 

 bird, utters a wild 

 song, laughs, 

 coughs, sneezes, 

 and mimics gener- 

 ally ; Acrulocercus 

 gets the name of 

 O-o from its harsh 

 double call; Pogo- 

 nornis that of 

 Stitch-bird from 

 its clicking cry, 

 though it also 

 whistles ; while 



Philemon cornicu- FlGt 135 -~~ Tui - Prosthemadem novae zealandiae. x . 

 latus is sometimes called " Four -o'clock," "Poor Soldier," or 

 " Pimlico," from its note. Anthornis, the New Zealand " Bell- 

 bird," usually heard in chorus, has a voice like the tinkling of a 

 silver bell. 1 The nest, normally a slight structure of twigs, roots, 

 bark, grass, and spiders' webs, lined with woolly materials, fur, or 

 feathers, is placed in bushes, trees, or even tall grass, and generally 

 has the rim woven over a supporting fork. A few species, how- 

 ever, including the New Zealand forms, Pogonornis, Anthornis, and 

 Prosthemadera, build a solid fabric of twigs and rough materials 



1 Oreoeca cristata (Laniidae) and Manorhina melanoplirys (Meliphagidae) are the 

 Bell-birds of Australia ; Chasmorhynchus (Cotingidae) of the Neotropical Region. 



